The Edmonton Oilers scored three straight second-period goals to tie Game 4 with the Florida Panthers Thursday.
The Oilers brought in backup goalie Calvin Pickard for the second period after Stuart Skinner let in three goals on 17 shots in the first, leaving the Panthers up 3-0 after 20 minutes of play.
But Edmonton was quick to capitalize on its first power play in the second frame, with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins — who’d been a question mark coming into the game due to an undisclosed injury — finding the back of the net to put his team on the board.
Darnell Nurse then brought the Oilers within one, ripping a wrist shot top shelf past Florida Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky with just over seven minutes left in the second period.
Two minutes later, winger Vasily Podkolzin scored on a backhand shot to tie the game.
The Panthers returned pressure toward the end of the period, with Pickard coming up big and defenceman Mattias Ekholm blocking a Tkachuk shot on an otherwise open net with just over a minute left.
Seconds later, Carter Verhaeghe hammered Edmonton defenceman Evan Bouchard into the boards from behind, sending him to the ice and giving Oilers fans a scare. The play was whistled down with no penalty call before Bouchard got back on his skates.
With 30 seconds left in the second period, Leon Draisatl got called for an elbow that will see the Panthers start the third period with a man advantage.
Penalties shifted 1st-period momentum
Game 4 got off to a quick start, with both teams getting chances early in the first period. But the Panthers quickly turned the tide, peppering Skinner who looked sharp early on, making at least one highlight-reel save.
And then, as in Game 3, players began the march to the penalty box.
Oilers winger Evander Kane took a high-sticking penalty, and defenceman Darnell Nurse was called on a trip halfway through the penalty kill.
The Panthers’ Matthew Tkachuk made the Oilers pay with a shot through traffic during the 5-on-3.
A high stick by Ekholm then led to a second Tkachuk powerplay goal with just over three minutes left in the period.
Anton Lundell added a third goal at even strength with less than a minute left in the first period on a setup from Carter Verhaeghe, who got away with high-sticking Oilers defender Troy Stecher on the play.
Panthers dominated penalty-ridden Game 3
The Panthers dominated their first home game of the finals on Monday, winning 6-1 to take the series lead after two tight overtime games in Edmonton.
Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch shuffled the team’s lineup, bringing in Troy Stecher to replace John Klingberg on defence and Jeff Skinner to step in for Viktor Arvidsson up front.
Skinner got the start in goal, despite speculation that backup Pickard might draw in after Skinner allowed five goals on 23 shots Monday.
Skinner has traditionally been stellar in Game 4s, with a 6-0 record including two shutouts and a .955 save percentage.
Knoblauch also changed up his forward line combinations, bumping Connor Brown up to the top line to play with Connor McDavid and Nugent-Hopkins.
Things went Florida’s way from the outset in the penalty-ridden Game 3, with the team scoring early and holding the lead throughout. Tempers boiled over in the third period Monday, with scuffles carrying on outside of the play and past the final buzzer.
Florida winger A.J. Greer stole Oilers defenceman Jake Walman’s glove and threw it into the Panthers’ bench in the second period, and Walman squirted water on the opposing bench in retaliation.
The NHL fined Walman $5,000 for the spray, and another $5,000 for punching Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk in the third period.
A Panthers fan was also seen dumping a drink on Oilers forward Kasperi Kapanen on his way to the dressing room in the third, in a video that generated much chatter online.
